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upda teupdate1993-2012 u b l i c a t i o nu b l i c a t i o n

June 2012 $2.00

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EHTC celebrated 35 yearsat Scott Lake Country Club

2Building a Solid Foundation, Firekeepers Casino Not

Gambling on FutureBy: Jeremy Martin

It began in 2009 with a master plandesigned by Las Vegas firm Thalden,Boyd and Emery and has over the pastthree years grown into a gleaming towerof glass and steel rising about I-94 justeast of downtown Battle Creek.

From its conception in 2008Firekeepers casino had hoped to growand expand beyond its original 38 acrefootprint. With the completion of a four-star hotel and convention center-due toopen during the fourth quarter of 2012-it will have a brand new 280,000 squarefoot addition to attract guests both newand old.

“We have an existing primary mar-ket area within 50 miles. Fifty to 100miles is considered a secondary marketbut beyond 100 miles we have very lit-

tle penetration because of overnightaccommodation,” R. Bruce McKee,Firekeepers CEO said. “So what we’retrying to do is expand our market aswell as accommodate some of our exist-ing customers that stay in third partyhotels that are nearby.”

The accommodations will gobeyond simply giving gaming enthusi-asts a place to rest, as the structure willinclude 21 suites, two presidentialsuites, a business center, a health center,a pool, and a state of the art conventioncenter. The addition will also see thedoubling in size of Firekeepers bingooperation.

“It’s really multifaceted; we have anevent center which is attached to it, thewarehouse expansion, the bingo expan-sion. We don’t really look at it just as ahotel,” McKee said. “I don’t think there

will be anything comparable in our area,” Thalden, Boyd and Emery were

once again called on to design the towerafter having created the master plan andthe original concept for the casino.

“We thought it a fitting extension oftheir services to design the hotel. Theyhave done over 300 hotels and 500 totalprojects in the gaming and hotel indus-try,” McKee said.

The actual construction has beendone by Clark Construction of Lansing,the same firm that built the originalstructure.

“They are a local firm. We havealways emphasized working with localsubcontractors and business. Clark did theoriginal casino construction and we had avery favorable relationship, they broughtit in on time and on budget and that’swhat we’re looking for,” McKee said.

Beyond contracting locally for theconstruction, Firekeepers will also beadding upwards of 300 new positionsonce the hotel is completed.

“Some of the management staffhave already been engaged and the GMhas been here since late last year,”Mckee explained.

If all goes well with the construc-tion, McKee is hopeful that the newhotel will only constitute a small part ofthe company’s future expansion, as the2009 master plan allows room for moreon site growth.

“It provides for another similartower to connect to the existing tower,so we could double our rooms andexpand the convention center space aswell. Originally this was going to be athree to five year expansion and phasetwo would be beyond that. It is possiblethat we could expand sooner dependingon the success of the first tower,” McKeesaid.

For more information onFirekeepers casino or to track theprogress on the hotel please visit: fire-keeperscasino.com

Current Business Trends:Modest Growth

Grand Rapids - The greater GrandRapids industrial economy is experienc-ing modest but slightly slower growth,according to the results of a monthlysurvey compiled by Brian G. Long,director of Supply ManagementResearch in the Seidman College ofBusiness at Grand Valley StateUniversity.

The survey results are based on datacollected during the last two weeks ofMay. The survey’s index of businessimprovement, called new orders, moderat-ed to +20 from +24. The production indexeased considerably to +5 from +25 andemployment tapered off to +12 from +20.

Long said staff reductions werereported by 13 percent of local business-es. “Some firms are starting to liquidate

the inventories they built over the pastsix months in anticipation of higherprices,” said Long. “Overall, our currentstatistics are still positive, but slightlyless robust than what we would like tosee. Even though the local economy isstill growing, the future is starting tolook less certain than it did a fewmonths ago.”

Long said automotive parts produc-ers should keep statistics positive for afew more months and the office furni-ture business remains soft, but there aresigns several firms are stabilizing. Hesaid business conditions remain positivefor industrial distributors and the per-formance for capital equipment firmsremains stable because of the uptick inthe automotive industry.

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3Increasing Loyalty by Enhancing Employee

Benefit Offerings, Not CostsPrepared by MetLife

Today’s small business owner facesa number of challenges including a sloweconomic recovery and volatile invest-ment markets. In addition to those,according to MetLife’s 9th Annual Studyof Employee Benefit Trends, many mayalso be facing employee retention issuesas employee loyalty has significantlydeclined in the last few years. Only 44%of employees reported a strong sense ofloyalty to their current employer – asharp contrast from 2008 where 62% ofthose surveyed felt a great sense of loy-alty.

Though small businesses may befacing some hurdles, today’s environ-ment may present opportunities foremployers to help retain and recruitemployees by improving benefit offer-ings while maintaining the line on costs.

Voluntary Benefits Though benefits such as medical,

prescription drugs, dental, life, disability,and vision coverage, are considered bymany employees important to have,about one-third of small business do notoffer one or all of these. Among employ-ees, however, interest is still very strong.The study shows that approximately halfof employees find it important to havebenefits like life, dental, and disabilityinsurance available to them through theworkplace even if they have to pay all ofthe cost themselves.

Therefore, voluntary benefits areanother option for small businessemployers seeking a cost-effective wayto increase their benefits offerings whileimproving employee retention. Whenfaced with a choice of either paying forsome benefits or losing them entirely,many employees indicated that theywould choose to pay for them.

Retirement SolutionsFor individuals today, saving for

retirement has become a daunting task.It is safe to say that a majority of indi-viduals today feel that they have notsaved enough for retirement, and theanemic economic recovery has notassuaged those fears and concerns.

One way small businesses may beable to help employees with their retire-ment savings goals is to offer education-al programs. 75% of small businessemployees (those who work for employ-ers with fewer than 500 workers) whoreport taking time off to deal with, or

spend more time at work thinking aboutpersonal financial issues than they thinkthey should, said they would be interest-ed in receiving advice and guidancethrough their employer. Employers aresomewhat reluctant to do so, under-standable giving these challengingtimes. But there are clearly some produc-tivity and loyalty implications for anemployer’s decision not to address thefinancial worries of employees. Overall,many financial advice and guidance pro-grams and tools can be implementedwith minimal cost and effort.

OpportunitiesTo the small business owner, the

question of whether or not to offeremployee benefits is more a question ofhow to spend more effectively versusspending more. Many employee benefitsolutions can be implemented by a smallbusiness owner at a minimal cost, andthe rewards can be quite substantial asthese benefits foster a sense of loyaltyamong employees. Company loyalty, inturn, may lead to a more positive workenvironment, a place where employeesfeel they have a network of support andgreater job satisfaction.

Therefore, to help prevent smallbusinesses suffer employee productivitylosses from losing talented staff or fromhaving dissatisfied employees, theyshould be encouraged to work with their

brokers to ensure that their benefits pro-gram is meeting the needs of employeesand that the benefit offerings remain rel-evant and competitive. A well-designed,cost-effective benefits program can helpsmall business employers attract, retain,reward and motivate those who makethe business run effectively and effi-ciently.

Prepared by MetLife Delivered cour-tesy of Doug Detmer, Financial Advisor,Investment Advisor Representative,Financial Services Representative atMetLife 330 East Beltline NE Suite 4Grand Rapids, MI 49506

Metropolitan Life InsuranceCompany, 200 Park Avenue, New York,NY 10166.

Comerica RegionalEconomic Update

by Robert A. Dye & Meaghan A.Derrick, Comerica Bank

Central West Michigan Benefitsfrom Manufacturing Boost

• Central West Michigan’s unem-ployment rate of 6.9 percent in Februaryis well below the February state widerate of 8.8 percent, as well as the Marchnational rate of 8.1 percent. And whileAnn Arbor maintains the lowest unem-ployment rate of the region, at 5.8 per-cent, Central West Michigan’s other threemetro areas (Grand Rapids, Kalamazooand Lansing) all ended February withunemployment rates of 7.5 percent or

below.A revitalized auto manufacturing

sector has helped boost employmentacross the region. GM has announced itis adding 600 new workers to itsLansing Grand River assembly plant, asit launches a second shi??. Toyota is hir-ing 150 engineers, technicians and sci-entists at its Technical Center in AnnArbor. American Axle & ManufacturingHoldings will add about 300 workers tothe region through early 2013. CentralWest Michigan furniture manufacturersare feeling steadier but demand isexpected to be flat in 2012 as office con-struction remains weak.

Continued on page 6

Echelbarger, Himebaugh, Tamm & Co. PC (EHTC)— Not your typical CPA Firm.

Grand Rapids - Echelbarger,Himebaugh, Tamm & Co., P.C. (EHTC) wasestablished in 1977 by Dennis M.Echelbarger. His passion for publicaccounting and community outreach hasmade EHTC what it is today. His ambitionwas to know people on a more personallevel. His drive was the everyday challengeof resolving issues for individuals, non-

profit organizations, and businesses,while building long term relationships.Dennis found his abilities to help othersreach their full potential very rewarding.

EHTC has grown and evolved tobecome one of the most successful localmulti-service accounting firms in theGreater Grand Rapids area. The firm is arecognized leader in the business commu-nity, as well as a participant in profession-al organizations and volunteerism.

That success is based upon beinglarge enough to serve a diverse clientele,while remaining small enough to pay per-sonalized attention to each customer.

This year EHTC celebrates 35 years ofbusiness.

“More importantly, we are celebrating35 years of giving back to our communityby helping businesses strive through hardeconomic times, individuals gain control oftheir finances and plan for the future,while raising money to help support localcharities” Dennis Echelbarger, founder ofEHTC said.

This year also marks EHTC’s 26thAnnual ‘Chipping for Charity’ Golf Outing.In the last 25 years, EHTC has raised over$200,000 for local charities. This year’souting is scheduled for September 19, andthe recipient is Hospice of Michigan’sJames B. Fahner M.D. Pediatric HospiceCare Program.

Many employees spend additionaltime volunteering for organizations suchas teaching a Personal Finance Class atGrand Rapid’s Women’s Resource Centeror serving on Boards and committees fororganizations such as GerontologyNetwork, Kent Medical Foundation, andAmerican Cancer Society.

Currently, Mr. Echelbarger is assist-ing Governor Snyder by serving on theCommission on Community Action andEconomic Opportunity. The Commissionaims to reduce the causes and effects ofpoverty and help foster self-sufficiency forlow-income Michigan residents.

The secret to EHTC’s success reliesstrongly on the firm’s core values:

Work/Life Balance and Family, Teamwork,Communication, Integrity and Trust,Innovation and Flexibility, ExceedingClients Expectations, Relationships,Opportunity, Profitability, Accountabilityand Responsibility.

EHTC shareholders motivate employ-ees to reach their full potential throughcontinuing education, working together asa team, experiencing life, and helping cus-tomers do the same. EHTC is not your typ-ical accounting firm.

Shareholder HistoryPrior to EHTC, Dennis Echelbarger

spent eleven years as an employee andpartner in another local CPA firm, and twoyears as the Chief Financial Officer of alarge Grand Rapids based distributor.

Originally, he planned to remain asole practitioner. He hired Diane L. Friar,CPA/ABV/CFF as his receptionist/secretarytwo weeks after opening his office. (Dianebecame the first staff person to rise toshareholder status in 1985.)

The firm's first location was on 36thStreet in Grand Rapids and Mr.Echelbarger’s first partner was added in1978. Subsequently, new partners replacedhim. They are no longer with the firm, butthe name EHTC still thrives.

Since inception, the firm has focusedon the needs of mid-size businesses, andoffered tax planning and preparation,audit and accounting services, forensicaccounting, business valuation, litigationsupport, and business consulting. Thebelief was to offer one-on-one customerservices and concentrate on building win-ning relationships.

As the firm's clients became more

successful, the business grew and so didthe number of team members. Robin M.Stoner, CPA/MST joined the firm as anadministrative assistant in 1985. Shebecame a shareholder in. David G.Echelbarger, CPA joined the firm as a staffaccountant in the Audit and AccountingDepartment in 1986.

Following his father's entrepreneurialspirit, David founded EHTC's TechnologySolutions Division in 1986. In 1994, astrategic decision was made to collaboratewith a select group of software vendors,including Microsoft Corporation.

EHTC Technology Solutions was ini-tially formed to support the sales and mar-keting of this software and related solu-tions. Since then, it has evolved into abusiness technology consulting practicewith many unique aspects. Efforts are nolonger simply focused on the sales andsupport of specific software but includeservices such as data integration betweensystems, custom-developed software solu-tions, and in-depth expertise withCustomer Relationship Management(CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning(ERP) systems.

EHTC moved to its new and currentoffice at 5136 Cascade Rd in 2000. DaveEchelbarger, CPA became a shareholder in2004. Robert E. Milanowski was a subcon-tracted consultant for EHTC TechnologySolutions for over ten years before becom-ing our newest shareholder in 2005.

To discover more about Echelbarger,Himebaugh, Tamm & Co. PC (EHTC) andtheir 35 years of business, log ontowww.ehtc.com or call (616) 575-3482.

Publisher: Gary Kralapp

Business DevelopmentSenior Vice President: Diane LaPrezeSenior Vice President: Jim LroyCirculation: Aubrey Day

Contributing Writers: MetLife, RobertA. Dye, Meaghan A. Derrick, BillKnudson, Tom Jager, John Tschohl,Adam Riggs,

Managing Editor: Carol M. KralappAssociate Editor: Jeremy MartinPrinting/Distribution: News Web PrintingAccountant: Michael Tawney & CompanyLegal: Miller Canfield Paddock & Stone

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BusinessBusiness

upda teupdateu b l i c a t i o n

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By Bill Knudson

If Michigan’s food and agriculturesystem were a Fortune 500 company, itwould come in solidly at No. 47. Unlikemanufactured goods and tourism, food is anecessity. Therefore, those of us at theMichigan State University (MSU) ProductCenter weren’t surprised that food andagriculture fared better than other indus-tries in an economic downturn. But evenwe were surprised to see the size of thesector’s increase during a global recession.

In 2010, the most recent year ofavailable data, Michigan’s food and agri-culture system accounted for an estimat-ed $91.4 billion in economic activityannually. The system also accounted forabout 923,000 jobs. That’s according to“The Economic Impact of Michigan’sFood and Agriculture System,” publishedin April by the MSU Product Center. Youcan find the full report, as well as theexecutive summary, under the researchtab at www.productcenter.msu.edu.

Economic impactMichigan’s food and agriculture sys-

tem encompasses farming, food processingand manufacturing, leather processing,and food wholesaling, retailing and foodservice, as well as the floriculture/orna-mentals/turfgrass and ethanol industries.Altogether, the sector accounts for a totalof $91.4 billion in total economic activity –direct, indirect and induced activity.“Direct activity” refers to the level of salesin the industry; “indirect activity” refers to

the impact on input industries; andinduced economic activity is the impact onthe general economy resulting from the

industry – in this case, various food andagriculture industries.

That $91.4 billion is a 51.9 percentincrease from 2004, as indicated by aprevious study conducted in 2006. Thenthe food and agriculture sector was deter-mined to be valued at $60.1 billion. Aninterim study in 2009 showed anincrease in value to $71.3 billion. Thenewest study shows that the food andagriculture system is on a consistentgrowth trend.

“You’d be hard-pressed to find anoth-er business sector that has pulled throughthe recession with those kinds of numbersin just six years,” said Chris Peterson,director of the MSU Product Center.

Most of the economic impact isderived from wholesaling and retailing,which include everything from restaurant

service to thepurchase ofl a n d s c a p eplants. Thedirect impact offood wholesaleand retail activi-ties was $29.05billion, with atotal impact of$51.07 billion.Food processingand manufactur-ing accountedfor $14.66 bil-lion in directeconomic activi-

ty and $24.56 billion in total economicactivity. The farm sector accounted for$7.24 billion in direct economic activityand $13.09 billion in total economicactivity. One important and often neglect-ed part of the system consists of floricul-tural, ornamental and turfgrass servicesand retail. This sector contributed $2.47billion in direct activity and $4.52 billionin total activity to the state’s economy.

Impact on employmentMichigan’s food and agriculture sys-

tem is a major source of employment,accounting for 22 percent of all Michiganjobs. The food and agriculture systememploys more than 923,000Michiganders in direct, indirect and

induced jobs. Of them, nearly 618,000are directly employed within the sector.Farming and food processing employ-ment in Michigan grew by 14,000 jobs, a6.3 percent increase from the 2006 study.

Unfortunately, the recession did notleave the workforce unscathed. Overallemployment in the system dropped byabout 112,000 jobs between 2004 and2010. Food wholesaling and retailingtook the hardest hit, losing 124,000 jobs,a 15.9 percent decline.

“It’s not surprising that there werejob losses in the service sector,” Petersonsaid. “Fewer people are eating out, whichleads to fewer waitstaff, cooks, restau-rant hosts, etc. However, we’re seeing thenumbers of new jobs created in food pro-cessing plants and on farm continue toincrease.”

Western Michigan plays a vitallyimportant role in the system. WesternMichigan is a major producer of fruits andvegetables and, therefore, a major proces-sor of these products. Also, westernMichigan leads the state in turkey and eggproduction and is a major producer ofnursery and greenhouse products.

Bill Knudson is the product market-ing economist for the Michigan StateUniversity Product Center and the leadtechnician on the study. He can bereached at knudsonw@msu.edu. Learnmore at productcenter.msu.edu.

Food and Agriculture: Holding Michigan’s Economy Steady

Finance/Insurance BriefsGrand Rapids – A survey of profession-als who attended “Changing World ofHR” seminar at Warner Norcross &Judd LLP, found that one of the top pri-orities of West Michigan humanresources and benefits managers, wasfilling full-time positions with nearly 73percent planning to increase hiring offull-time employees within the coming12 months, while 35 percent planned toincrease hiring of part-time workers.Approximately 66 percent of surveyrespondents said that hiring collegeinterns would remain unchanged on ayear-over-year basis, while slightlyunder half said they planned to increasehiring of new college graduates.

Grand Rapids – Rodney D. Martin, theDiversity Partner with the law firm ofWarner Norcross & Judd LLP, receivedthe prestigious President's Award fromthe Grand Rapids Bar Association.

Lansing – Michigan companies in theadvanced and renewable energy sectorunveiled a benchmark study on the eco-nomic and jobs impact of residential andcommercial energy efficiency products inMichigan. The study, conducted by TheHill Group based in Carnegie, Pa., foundthat the manufacture of these products

has the potential to impact more than $2billion annually on Michigan, supportingmore than 9,000 jobs, and producingmore than $71 million in local and Statetax revenues. “Energy efficiency is animportant and growing sector in theadvanced energy industry and currentlysupports jobs throughout Michigan,”said Ed Clemente, president of theEnergy Innovation Business Council.“This report tells the story of Michigan’senergy efficiency manufacturers andshines a light on their economic contri-butions to our State.”

Muskegon – Lighthouse Group ofMuskegon announced the hiring ofBecky Reynolds as a Title SettlementOfficer with over 20 years of experienceas Settlement Closing Agent and TitleInsurance Examiner.

Grand Rapids – Jason Marvin, a certi-fied public account and partner withPlante Moran, PLLC since 2009, wasinducted into Grand Valley StateUniversity Accounting Hall of Fame.

Grand Rapids – Miller Johnson wel-comed Isidore U. Okoro, Director ofInformation Technology (IT), andJessica M. Fields, Library Information

Services Manager, as part of the firm’sadministrative team.

Muskegon – Anthony J. Kolenic Jr., apartner with the law firm WarnerNorcross & Judd LLP, has been electedchair of the Great Lakes Area TaxExempt-Government Entities LiaisonCouncil.

West Michigan – Peg Lutz, CFP, CDFA,and Paul Singer - owners of DivorceFinancial Consultants, LLC, recentlyattended a divorce conference in TN

through the Institute of DivorceFinancial Analyst.

Muskegon – Toni Strait joinedLighthouse Group in their Muskegonoffice as a Personal Lines AccountManager.

Grand Rapids – Sarah Riley Howard, apartner with the law firm WarnerNorcross & Judd LLP, has been electedto the Grand Rapids Bar Association'sboard of trustees.

6

Comerica RegionalEconomic Update

Continued form page 3Con• Home prices in Central West

Michigan have fallen 19 percent sincetheir 2005Q3 peak. The U.S., by compar-ison, has fallen about 16 percent from itsmuch later peak in 2007Q1. Pricedeclines in the region slowed over thecourse of 2011, and are poised for mildimprovement in 2012, likely in the rangeof 2 percent year over year. Following aprolonged dip through the second half of2010 and most of 2011, housing starts

in the region spiked in the last quarter of2011, driven by a boom in single familyconstruction.

• Looking ahead, the Central WestMichigan region, like most other areas ofthe state, faces demographic challenges,with all four metro areas in the regionexpected to show continued net outmigration. Personal income growth forthe region is expected to lag na??onalgrowth by about one percent in 2012.

Identity Fraud, Protecting Yourself and Your FamilyBy: Tom Jager

Identity fraud is one of thosethings you just don't want to thinkabout. But then you hear the storieslike Bill in Cadillac who discoveredsomeone had "borrowed" his name andhealth insurance to have surgery.

This surgery was now part of Bill'smedical record. Or how about Jeannein the Detroit area who received a callreminding her she was late on the pay-ments for her new car; unfortunatelyJeanne did not buy a new car. Someonehad stolen her identity and now shehad to convince the creditor that it wasnot her but someone using her person-al information.

Identity theft is when someone ille-gally has your personal identifiableinformation. It becomes identity fraudwhen they use the information. In theUnited States last year, there were anestimated 11.6 million cases of identityfraud.

The typical person trying to correctthe wrongs from a single fraud event ontheir record will have about $1,000 inextra expenses and even worse about160 hours of time. There are caseswhere the thieves have opened over 50fraudulent accounts in the name of asingle person. In cases like this, the vic-tim can spend years trying to restoretheir name and credit.

If you're like most people, thanright about now you are thinking; "ok, Iget it, identity theft is a problem and itcould happen to me. But honestly, I haveno idea what to do. How do I protectmyself and my family"?

Here are the 3 main things youshould look for in an identity theft solu-tion:

First; you need a program that willprovide you with fully managed recov-ery. If you are a victim, you need arecovery specialist to come alongsideyou and help you from start to comple-tion of the recovery process. Don't set-

tle for a program that sends you arecovery kit and leaves you to fend foryourself. You are not an expert and thisis not a situation where you want tolearn as you go. The risks are too highfor the trial and error method.

Second; you want a program thatwill reimburse you for the extraexpenses you encounter. You may needthe help of a local attorney and youmay miss time from work. These andother things can cost money out ofyour pocket.

Finally; you want a program thatlets you set up monitoring. This moni-toring should be both financial andnon-financial. The financial will allowyou to view your credit reports and willautomatically alert you whenever thereis a change such as a new accountbeing opened. The non-financial mon-itoring component will check for incon-sistencies in public records. Things likefinding your social security numberassociated with some else's name.

Over half of identity crime is non-financial so this is a critical part of anycomprehensive program.

One other thing to keep in mind isyou should get the program for theentire family, even your kids. Identitythieves like to get the social securitynumbers of children. They can use it toestablish a new identity and since thesocial security number comes from achild, it can go undetected for manyyears.

There are many good protectionprograms out there. Some are over-priced due to extremely high advertis-ing costs. Shop around to find the rightcoverage and price, and remember,group programs can provide excellentfamily coverage at very low cost.

Tom Jager works for Nulty Group.They provide identity theft solutions toCredit Unions for their members. Hecan be reached at TomJager@nulty.com

7Hospitals Continue to be a Leader in

State’s Economic RecoveryLansing - Michigan hospitals con-

tinue to boost the state’s economic recov-ery by creating new jobs, deliveringhigh-quality care at costs below nationalaverages, and leading the nation inpatient safety and quality improvements,finds a new report issued today by theMichigan Health & Hospital Association(MHA).

The report, Value Proposition: TheUnique Role of Michigan Hospitals inAchieving a Healthier State and aStronger Economy finds:

• Michigan hospitals are among thehighest quality and safest in the nation,led by the MHA Keystone Center forPatient Safety & Quality collaborativeinitiatives that have saved thousands oflives and reduced health care costs byhundreds of millions of dollars.

• Michigan hospitals continue toserve as the health care safety nets oftheir communities, caring for nearly 2million Medicaid beneficiaries and 1.3

million uninsured residents. In fiscalyear (FY) 2010, Michigan hospitals pro-vided nearly $2.6 billion in communitybenefits to local citizens, including morethan $761 million in community healthimprovement services (immunizations,clinics, free/discounted prescriptions,counseling and more) and other volun-tary benefits; more than $970 million inuncompensated care —including $360million in charity care and $609 millionin uncollectable funds (bad debt); morethan $633 million in unreimbursedMedicaid services; and more.

• As the largest private-sectoremployer, Michigan’s health care sectoris leading the state’s economic recovery.Michigan hospitals and other health careproviders directly employ approximately555,400 people who earn more than $31billion in wages, salaries and benefits,and together with their employers, paymore than $7.4 billion annually in local,state and federal taxes. Hospitals alone

provide nearly 222,000 direct jobs.• The state’s Medicaid program gen-

erates substantial federal matching dol-lars for Michigan and should be appro-priately funded. For every dollarMichigan invests in Medicaid, the statereceives an additional $1.95. This meansthat a $100 million investment by thestate brings in $195 million more in fed-eral funds.

• Affordable care is a priority forMichigan hospitals. As a result, costs atMichigan hospitals ranked 5 percentbelow the national average in FY 2010,saving at least $500 million. At the sametime, the average operating margin ofMichigan hospitals was a narrow 2.8percent, compared to 5.5 percent at hos-pitals nationwide.

“Michigan hospitals’ number onepriority is to provide the right treatmentto every patient, every time,” said MHAPresident Spencer Johnson. “To that end,hospitals have invested in achievinghigher-quality, safer care; employinghundreds of thousands of dedicatedcaregivers; and ensuring that everypatient who walks through their doorsgets the care they need, despite their

ability to pay.”Johnson said the report, and the

continued outstanding performance ofMichigan hospitals, illustrate why aninvestment from the state in Medicaid,graduate medical education and othermechanisms that protect and enhanceaccess to affordable health care is so crit-ical to achieving a physically and fiscallyhealthier future.

“As Gov. Rick Snyder and state law-makers prepare the state budget, we urgethem to recognize the tremendous valueMichigan hospitals provide to citizens inevery community,” Johnson said.“Investing in health care protectspatients, communities and jobs — andultimately helps achieve a healthierMichigan.”

Based in Lansing, the MHA repre-sents all of Michigan’s community hospi-tals and successfully advocates on behalfof hospitals and the patients they serve.The MHA addresses key issues in thelegislative and regulatory arenas toadvance initiatives that protect quality,cost-effective and accessible care. Tolearn more, visit http://www.mha.org.

Health Care BriefsGrand Rapids – Community HealthAccreditation Program, Inc. announcedthat Hospice of Michigan has beenreaccredited under the CHAP Standardsof Excellence through December 2014.Through CHAP certification, Hospice ofMichigan is also certified as a Medicareprovider.

Holland – As part of its annual NationalHospital Week celebration, HollandHospital named Kerri Souter, RN, asthe recipient of the hospital’s DorotheaMilbrandt Mentorship Award, and PatDen Boer, RN, as the recipient of theJudeth Newham Award for NursingExcellence.

Grand Rapids – Wendy Balivet, MDjoins Advantage Heath PhysicianNetwork at its Caledonia office, special-izing in family medicine.

Grand Rapids – Dr. Michael Kwast, achiropractor at Peak PerformanceChiropractic, announced an addition ofa detoxification cleansing to flush harm-ful toxins out of bodily tissues, as beingamong its current list of services includ-ing chiropractic adjustment, nutritionalcounseling, massage therapy, and otherrehabilitative techniques.

Allegan – Patricia Seiler, MD, recentlybecame board certified in sleep medicineby the American Board of FamilyMedicine, in a joint venture with theAmerican Board of Internal Medicineand three other American Board ofMedical Specialty boards.

Grand Rapids – Hope Networkannounced that Ron Schutt has beennamed Executive Vice President ofDevelopment and External Relations forHope Network, and Lona McLincha hasbeen named Vice President of TalentManagement for Hope Network.

Allegan – Ryan Seim, MD was recentlyappointed Medical Director of AlleganGeneral Hospital’s EmergencyDepartment.

Grand Rapids - Helen DeVos Children’sHospital received LEED Gold certifica-tion from the U.S. Green BuildingCouncil.

Grand Rapids – Phillip W. Weaver,President and CEO of Hope Network,has been selected by the Brain InjuryAssociation of Michigan as the recipi-ent of its Community Service andLeadership Award.

88Health Care BriefsGrand Rapids – Pine Rest Foundationannounced Peter Boumgarden,Professor of Management at HopeCollege, and community volunteers PegBreon, and Kathy Dunlap as new boardmembers to the Pine Rest FoundationBoard of Governors.

Wyoming – Metro Health Hospitalannounced that Dr. Larry J. Diaz wasdesignated a fellow of the Society forCardiovascular Angiography andInterventions, or SCAI.

Grand Rapids – Joseph J. Fifer, FHFMA,CPA, Vice President of Hospital Financeof Spectrum Health Hospital Group,has been named the new President andCEO of the Healthcare FinancialManagement Association.

Grand Rapids – Clark RetirementCommunity entered the main buildingat 1551 Franklin Grand Rapids, MI inthe 2012 National Battle of the Buildingscontest hosted by the US EnvironmentalProtection Agency. Partnering with theirHVAC service company, HurstMechanical last fall, an energy audit wasconducted which resulted in an EnergyStar* benchmark score of 12 out of apossible 100 for the 258,677 sq. ft.Franklin building. The goal is to improvetheir Energy Star* “score” from 12 to 40which would equate to a 20% reductionin energy consumption. All buildings inthe competition which prove an energyreduction by 20% or more will receivenational recognition.Holland – Thomson Reuters released itsannual study identifying the 100 top U.S.hospitals based on their overall organiza-tional performance. Holland Hospital,for the seventh consecutive year, is theonly hospital from the western Michiganarea to make the list.

Lansing – Michigan OsteopathicAssociation awarded Samer Totonchi,D.O. with the top prize during the 2012Scientific Research Exhibit competitionwhich provides osteopathic medical stu-dents, residents, fellows and attending-level physicians throughout Michigan anopportunity to present their medical andscientific research to the osteopathic pro-fession.

Wyoming – Metro Health Hospitalannounced that Dr. Fadi A. Saab hasbeen designated a fellow of theAmerican Society of Echocardiography.

Kalamazoo – Bronson MethodistHospital was named a recipient of the2012 HealthGrades Outstanding PatientExperience Award™ by HealthGrades,the leading provider of information tohelp consumers make an informed deci-sion about a physician or hospital. Grand Rapids – The Grand Rapids AreaChapter for the Hearing LossAssociation of America has beenselected to receive the 2012 HLAAChapter Website Award, which recog-nizes chapter websites that excel indesign and content in support of theHLAA mission.Kalamazoo, Lansing, Grand Rapids –The Fertility Center announced a new“Assured IVF Program” guaranteeingqualified patients less than thirty-eightyears of age, successful In-VitroFertilization or their money back.

Wyoming – Metro Health Hospitalannounced that Kathleen M. Campbellhas joined the hospital as Vice Presidentof Clinical Services and will be responsi-ble for developing and implementing anintegrated model of clinical programsthat control medical costs, create clinicalefficiencies, and improve patient healthin support of the hospital's short andlong-term strategic goals.

Wyoming – Metro Health announcedthe promotion of Cindy Allen-Fedor toExecutive Vice President and ChiefQuality Officer, Helen Berghoef to VicePresident of Ancillary and EmergencyServices, and Erika Duncan to VicePresident of Human Resources.

Grand Rapids – Health CareManagement announced its acquisitionof Applied Technology Methods andPractices (ATMP Solutions), a health-care technology and compliance consult-ing group based in southeast Michigan,to assist health care providers in imple-menting HIPAA-compliant security man-agement practices. Joe Dylewski,founder of ATMP Solutions, will joinHealth Care Management as a ManagingDirector.

Wyoming – Metro Health Hospitalannounced that Gerri Navarre,Administrative Director of MedicalEducation, was inducted as a fellow ofthe Association of Osteopathic Directorsand Medical Educators.

Grand Rapids – Seth Wolk, MD, MHSA,

joined the Spectrum Health MedicalGroup as Department Chief of SurgicalSpecialties with special interests inpatient safety and quality of care, inter-disciplinary team building and coordi-nated care, risk management and gradu-ate medical education.

Wyoming – Metro Health Hospitalnamed Dr. Peter Goebel its 2012Nursing-Chosen Physician of the Year,which is given annually by MetroHealth’s Professional Nursing Council torecognize a physician who exemplifiesbest practices and who also supports therole of nurses as part of the healthcareteam. Dr. Goebel specializes in internalmedicine and is a hospitalist.

Wyoming – Metro Health Hospitalnamed Delphia Croff its 2012 NurseExemplar. The award is given annuallyto recognize a registered nurse involvedin direct patient care at Metro Healthwho has demonstrated exceptional nurs-ing practice.

Wyoming – Metro Health Hospital hasbeen recognized as one of the 101 Bestand Brightest Sustainable Companies™ inMichigan.

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Review of Coach Yourself to Win

By Rolf Dobelli, Chairman,getAbstract

Some motivational authors claim thattheir books, with their snappy covers andglowing recommendations, can change

your life – even if their content is as insub-stantial as a summer breeze. In contrast,Howard M. Guttman provides a steadystream of valuable content that can helpyou make your life better. A respectedexecutive coaching expert, Guttman pres-ents seven easy-to-follow steps you canuse to coach yourself to achieve lastingpositive behavioral change. He deliversinvaluable knowledge, wisdom, savvy tipsand practical expertise as he explains howto apply proven executive coaching princi-ples to modify your behavior and achievea happier, more productive life.getAbstract recommends this completelyuseful self-coaching guide. It will be worthfar more than its cover price if you practiceits principles.

Howard M. Guttman. Coach Yourselfto Win: 7 Steps to BreakthroughPerformance on the Job and in Your Life.McGraw-Hill, 2010. 272 pages. List Price:$25.00. ISBN-13: 978-0071640343.

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9Running For a Healthy Tomorrow

By: Jeremy Martin

West Michigan offers countlessopportunities to stay in shape and enjoya healthy lifestyle. Fitness clubs offeryear round access to equipment andtrainers, miles of beautiful coastline pro-vide swimming and boating adventuresat every turn and the area’s numeroustrails, tracks, and races give thoseinclined to run or bike plenty of motiva-tion to get out and move.

But no matter what activity youchoose, most experts will agree that theyounger you begin, the more inclinedyou will be to stay active as you age.

Carrie Wilson is an advocate for achildhood filled with exercise and play.She herself began running at a youngage and continued her passion for move-ment through her high school yearswhere she ran both track and crosscountry.

Following a motor vehicle accidentthat jeopardized her ability to run dis-tances she decided to share her enthusi-asm and expertise with a younger gener-ation of girls.

Now the Council Director of Girls onthe Run-Calhoun County, Wilson organ-izes annual events and teaches young-sters how to not only exercise correctly,but also how to appreciate who they areand where they are headed.

“I was in a car accident and injuredpretty severely so this is kind of my wayof keeping the passion alive with run-ning and also a way to share what run-ning did for me and my self esteem as ayoung girl,” Wilson said.

Each year, beginning in early springGirls on the Run begins a 24 lesson cur-riculum that teaches girls in grades 3-5

the basics of how to run, eat healthy, setand achieve goals and most importantlyhow to have confidence in yourself.

“We have lessons about self respect,discovering yourself, basically it empow-ers the girls to be comfortable with whothey are; not only their bodies but howthey think about themselves and howthey would pick their friends. We teachthem about healthy eating, exercise.There is a different lesson each time thatcovers a core value that is important forthem to be aware of.

And it all leads up to the annualGirls On the Run 5k, which is held at theend of May at the Binder Park Zoo inBattle Creek.

“We do a lot of setting runninggoals during practices, some of the girlsthere aren’t always runners but we getthem moving a little faster with theirpace. We have them start setting goalsand they build up to it eventually,”Wilson said.

Though not every girl that has gonethrough the program has gone on tocompete in track or cross country, but thevast majority have at the very leastadopted the healthy lifestyle that GirlsOn the Run advocates.

“Some of them have written menotes saying how much they enjoy run-ning. But I have a lot of girls who tell mehow much healthier they are, they maynot necessarily be runners but they aredefinitely concerned about their bodiesand the food they put into it and justbeing healthy,” Wilson said.

Wilson’s passion for helping areayouth has allowed GOTR-C to grow from45 participants in 2006 to well over 600in 2012.

“It’s been word of mouth, then also

I do recruitment in the fall for our springseason where I will send out letters andsite applications to all the elementaryschools in Calhoun county,” Wilson said.“We try to add anywhere between five toeight sites per year so we can grow our

numbers.”If you have a child who might be

interested in participating in the 2013curriculum please visit gotofcalhoun.orgfor more information.

Metro Cab Announces itsAlternative Fuel Initiative

Grand Rapids - Metro Cab of GrandRapids is incorporating a bi-fuel systemusing mainly clean-burning propane andswitching to gasoline on exceptionallylong trips when propane refueling is notavailable. Metro Cab recently installedtwo 1,000 gallon propane tanks as theircommitment to using environmentally-friendly vehicles.

Propane is recognized as a “CleanAir Choice” by the American LungAssociation and is officially consideredan “alternative fuel” by the U.S.

Department of Energy and produced inthe United States, decreasing reliance onforeign energy sources and reducing theenvironmental impact associated with oilproduction and transportation.

Metro Cab’s efforts were recognizedwhen they received the prestigiousExceptional Energy Fleet Award in 2007from the Propane Education & ResearchCouncil for their forward-looking invest-ment in a propane fleet, one of only threecompanies in the nation to receive thisrecognition.

10Construction BriefsKalamazoo – CSM Group welcomedJohn Garay to the team as aConstruction Manager working on theirFood and Beverage team.

Grand Rapids – Integrated Architecturehired Michael VanSchelven as a SeniorDesigner.

Lansing – Swartz Creek CommunitySchools held a groundbreaking event tomark the beginning of construction fortheir high school’s new 45,000-square-foot performing arts center, for whichClark Construction will be the projectmanager. The cost of this project is esti-mated at $13.6 million, with an estimat-ed completion date in August 2013.

Kalamazoo – CSM Group hiredReceptionist, Sarah Lettow, and MonroeBrown intern, Andrew Dobbs as a full-time Project Engineer to their team.

Holland – Elzinga & VolkersProfessional Services announced theaddition of Mike Huizen as NationalSales Representative, the promotion ofJamie Schippa to Accounts PayableClerk, and the addition of Jenna Cassityas Accounting Assistant.

South Haven – A major expansion isunderway at South Haven FamilyCampground with special attractions,and will nearly double the offerings andamenities currently at the campground,which sits on 50 acres just a mile fromthe Kal Haven Trail and 5.5 miles east ofthe sandy shores of Lake Michigan.Currently, the campground offers 37sites, five cabins and one cottage, as wellas a camp store, restroom facilities,dump station, laundry facilities, gameroom, “Triple K” Raceway and Camp“Grounds” Espresso Bar and Café.

Allegan – Nick Grigsby, owner of Mr.Electric® of Allegan, Ottawa and VanBuren Counties, completed the highlyregarded Eaton Certified ElectricalVehicle Training along with his serviceprofessional David Passmore.

Kalamazoo – CSM Group announcedLindsay Mukans was selected asMonroe Brown ConstructionManagement Intern for the upcomingsummer.

Lansing – Clark Constructionannounced the addition of 12 studentsto assist in the company’s upcomingprojects through internships: John Bort,a student at Michigan State University;Jacob Carney, a graduate of Ferris StateUniversity; Darcy Christian, a recentgraduate of Michigan State University;Kenneth Hall, a graduate of MichiganState University; Jonathon Irby, a stu-dent at Northern Michigan University;Alex Kimble, a student at CentralMichigan University; Lindsay Kneale, astudent at the University of Michigan;Alex Newman, a student at Ferris StateUniversity; Courtney Parks, a junior atFerris State University; AdamPathfinder, a student at Michigan StateUniversity; Terry Stewart, a graduate ofCentral Michigan University; and HaleyWright, a student at Mason High School.

Kalamazoo – Tara Nisenson joined CSMGroup in their Kalamazoo office asHuman Resources Manager.

Comstock Park – Three members of theDreamMaker Bath & Kitchen Team -Bill Wolf, Jayne Wolf and PamSchlosser, recently attended thenational Kitchen and Bath IndustryShow in Chicago.

West Michign - First Companies, Inc.announces:• the lease of 10,460 SF industrial prop-erty at 7425 Clyde Park SE, Ste. G, ByronCenter to tenant Supreme Great Lakesfor landlord First Baker LLC.• the least of 3,205 SF industrial properyat 4282 Brockton Dr. SE, Ste. B, GrandRapids to tenant Excel Systems GroupInc. for landlord Steve Marcusse.• the least of 4000 SF industrial prop-erty at 3420 Broadmoor SE, Ste. 6,Grand Rapids to tenant Hoffman LawnCare for landlord Core Realty HoldingsManagement, LLC.

Byron Center – Owen-Ames-KimballCo. announced construction commence-ment at Byron Center Public Schoolsincluding major renovations to BrownElementary, the high school, MarshallElementary and Nickels Intermediate.The project is funded as part of the $23.6million bond, passed by voters inNovember 2011, with TowerPinkster asproject architect and a completion date inAugust 2014.

Wyoming – Dave Van Houten, owner ofHome Works Corporation, was selectedby Remodeling Magazine as one of itsRemodeling Big50, and is one of onlytwo Michigan-based professionalremodelers to be recognized.

Mt. Pleasant – The City of Mt. Pleasantwill begin its first stage of the redevelop-ment of more than 300 acres of landpurchased from the State of Michigan in2011, and has elected to remarket andrepurpose remaining machinery, equip-ment and other assets through onlineauctions utilizing Orbitbid.com, sched-uled to begin May 14, and continuethrough the first week in June.

Kentwood - First Companies, Incnegoiated a least of 5,463 SF industrialproperty at 4101 40th Street, Ste. 1,Kentwood, MI 49512 for tenant,Sentinel Technologies Inc. for landlord,Laser One LLC.

Wyoming – Dave Van Houten, owner ofHWC-Home Works Corporation, wasselected by Remodeling magazine as oneof its Remodeling Big50.

Mid West – Allen Edwin Homes hasbeen recognized by the United StatesEnvironmental Protection Agency with a2012 ENERGY STAR Leadership inHousing Award.

Lansing – Clark Construction presentedJacki Hilgendorf, project manager for theSt. Johns Public Schools, with the John M.Clark Service Award during the company’sannual meeting/safety seminar at theClark Construction Headquarters inLansing.

Grand Rapids - First Companies, Inc.announces the lease of 67,375 SF indus-trial property at 4741 Talon CT, GrandRapids to tenant Corium Internationalfor landlord 4741 Talon Court, LLC.

Tapestry Square will bring new Housing and Retail to Grand Rapids’ South East Side

By: Jeremy Martin

The Grand Rapids based non-profitInner City Christian Federation recentlyannounced the creation of the city’s newestneighborhood.

Dubbed Tapestry Square, the commu-nity will be a four block development withits boundaries being Wealthy St. to thenorth, Buckley St. to the south, DivisionAve. to the west and Lagrave Ave. to theeast.

The ICCF created a for profit arm of itshousing development operation to createthis mixed use space which had until nowbeen known as The Wealthy-JeffersonNeighborhood Initiative.

“The strength of any community isfound in the rich variety of uses and diver-sity of its residents,” Jonathan Bradford,president and CEO of ICCF said in a state-ment. “ICCF is deeply honored to build onthese strengths here toward a place of bal-ance and opportunity for all who live andwork here.”

Living and working is exactly whatICCF hopes people will do in this newneighborhood as a mix of residential apart-ments and townhomes will offer housingopportunities near a planned grocery storeand retail outlets. Green and park spacehas been built into the master plan, allow-ing residents and workers alike to enjoy anatural setting while remaining only a fewblocks southeast of the city’s core.

The plan allows for the Grand RapidsPublic Schools to construct a brand new$9.2 million structure on southern cornerof Logan and Division which will house theGrand Rapids University PreparatoryAcademy.

“We are creating a setting that willsupport our rigorous academic expecta-tions," Brian Cloyd, chair of the UPrepboard and vice president of global corpora-tions for Steelcase said. “From a construc-tion and design standpoint, this building isgoing to be an example and model forfuture education buildings."

Once complete, the building willaccommodate upwards of 500 students andshould be fully functional by the fall of2013. An 11th grade class is expected to bethe first group of students in the building,as they will begin studying on site this fall.

"This is a great example of how theschools and the community partners cancome together to do great things to advancethe learning of children," interim GrandRapids Schools Superintendent TeresaWeatherall Neal said. "I am excited for thestudents and staff members to have thisopportunity."

Bradford said that the overall con-struction of the neighborhood will be com-pleted in several segments. He mentionedthat phase one which includes two mixeduse buildings along Wealthy Streetbetween Sheldon and LaGrave avenues is

nearly complete.The next phase will involve the

restoration of a 97 year old apartmentbuilding located at 528 Sheldon Avenue.The structure will be remodeled and mod-ernized to fit the needs of today’s con-sumer.

It is not yet clear when the neighbor-hood will be fully completed but Bradfordsaid that demand has already been high forthe residential units and that ICCF hasreceived several letters of inquiry fromprospective retail tenants.

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12Commercial Alliance of REALTORS®

Strong and Poised for GrowthGrand Rapids - Committed to col-

laboration, cooperation and sharing ofinformation for the betterment of thereal estate community; the CommercialAlliance of REALTORS (CAR), a WestMichigan based REALTOR® associationis dedicated to serving commercial realestate practitioners.

The nearly 400 member trade asso-ciation is celebrating its ten yearanniversary and is focused on providingservices and benefits for both REAL-TORS® and Affiliate members.

The CAR Board of Directors beganmeeting in 2003, led by then President,Stanley J. Wisinski III, Partner/AssociateBroker of NAI Wisinski of WestMichigan.

"Commercial REALTORS felt theneed to branch off from the GrandRapids Association of REALTORS,which is residential-REALTOR driven,”Wisinski said. "Commercial practition-ers have different needs in the arenas ofeducation, political advocacy, forms,networking and in the listing of proper-ties. It made sense that these needscould be met through an exclusivelycommercial-focused association.During 2003 great efforts were made toset the foundation for what CAR istoday."

Duke Suwyn, President/CEO ofColliers International – West Michigan,explained that “Having been involved inthe industry for 20 plus years, and beinginvolved with the Inaugural Board ofCAR, I take great pride in the progressthat this group has made.”

“Over the years I’ve been involvedin numerous national commercial realestate organizations. It has become clearto me that we have a unique asset herein West Michigan that is rare and is theenvy of many commercial Realtorsacross the United States and NorthAmerica,” Suwyn said.

“For competitors in our industry tocollaboratively work together and servethe client and community throughshared resources is certainly not some-thing that happens in very many otherplaces. Even with the resources avail-able to us through an international realestate firm such as Colliers, we still dailyrely on the resources and services pro-vided by CAR,” He said.

George Bera, The Bera Group, hasbeen a member of CAR from the begin-ning and is a current Board member."As an independent Broker, my member-ship in CAR is important because it pro-vides services that allow me to competeon a level playing field with my col-

leagues,” Bera states. “Through theservices offered I am able to assist myclients professionally, network with thecommercial practitioner community, andtake advantage of educational opportu-nities.”

The importance of seeking theexpertise of a CAR member is critical tothose contemplating a commercial realestate transaction.

“As a commercial real estate bro-ker, I have my finger on the pulse of theWest Michigan market and am able totranslate that into great value for all ofmy commercial clients,” Tony Pearsonbroker at True North Real Estate said. “Ihave several residential agents that rec-ognize this and pass their commercialclients to me because they see theadvantage I can provide. In turn, I amhappy to refer my residential clients tothem for their expertise. It’s a greatrelationship!”

Affiliate member relationships arealso an important part of CAR, and overthirty companies are represented amongaffiliate members.

Attorney Jon Siebers, of SmithHaughey Rice and Roegge, shares“When I joined CAR less than 3 yearsago, I knew only a handful of commer-cial real estate professionals in West

Michigan. Today, thanks to my affiliatemembership in CAR, I know most of thekey players in our market.”

CAR is staffed by Executive DirectorShari Veldman, REALTOR CertifiedExecutive.

“Working for the commercial realestate community is fantastic. Their pro-fessionalism and commitment to theirclients has created this wonderful senseof community, and their dedication toCAR is very special,” Veldman said.

"2012 has been a year of significantchange and expanding opportunities forthe Commercial Alliance of REALTORS",states 2012 President Mary AnneWisinski-Rosley, Associate Broker, NAIWisinski of West Michigan.

"Relocating CAR's office near down-town, implementing ways to improveservices while cutting expenses andstrengthening relationships with com-mercial practitioners from outlying areassets our direction for the future. Webelieve that CAR members will see manypositive results from these initiatives,and we continue to appreciate the partic-ipation and support of the membership."

Visit www.carwm.com to search forcommercial properties and to learn moreabout the Commercial Alliance of REAL-TORS.

Construction BriefsWest Michigan - Signature Associateshas negotiated:• the sale of a 3,992 square foot indus-trial building located at 1302 S. WestSilver Lake Road, Traverse City for theseller, TC Group I, Inc. and the buyer,Grasshopper, LLC.• the lease of 29,000 square feet of officespace located at Bridgewater Place, 333Bridge Street NW for the tenant, Willis ofMichigan, Inc. totaling 8,800 square feetand also just recently completed a leasewith New York Life Insurance Companytotaling 20,000 square feet. WillisInsurance is moving downtown from asuburban building and New York Life isdoubling its current presence downtown.

Holland – Elzinga & Volkers receivedrecognition as one of only 12 EliteCategory Winners from the 101 Best andBrightest Companies to Work For, whichis the third time in the last four years thecompany has earned an Elite designation.

Grand Rapids - Signature Associates hasnegotiated:• the lease of 2,250 square feet of retailspace located at 311 Fuller Avenue NE,Grand Rapids for the landlord, MarogilFamily, LLC and the tenant, CHZEnterprises (The Cheese Lady). • the lease of 15,000 square feet of indus-trial space located at 750 E. Ellis Road,Muskegon, to Morris Motor Sports, LLC.for the landlord, H & E Realty, LLC.• the lease of 1,500 square feet of retailspace located at 4775 E. Apple Avenue,Muskegon to Direct LineCommunications, Inc. for the landlord,Livingston Howell Properties, LLC.

Kalamazoo – CSM Group announcedAmanda Mason was awarded the “NewLeader Award” by the NationalAssociation of Women in Construction,and also welcomed Kelsey Cox as the newBusiness Development and MarketingIntern for the upcoming summer.

Kalamazoo – CSM Group welcomes theAdam Jones. Adam will be working onour education team as a ProjectManager.

Muskegon – The staff of the Muskegonbranch of the Social SecurityAdministration announced they aremoving to a new building at 340 Morrisin downtown Muskegon. WolverineBuilding Group and Landmark Design,both of Grand Rapids, worked togetheron the 10,800 square foot facility andadjacent parking lot which will provide

office space for more than 30 employees. Norton Shores – Encore SeatingRestorations recently received specialrecognition from the Historic HawaiiFoundation for the restoration of seatingat Paschoal Hall, which was built in 1916to serve as a gathering place in KalaupapaNational Historic Park district.

Grandville – JDH Engineering, Inc.announced Jason Shingledecker receivedthe “Young Structural Engineer of theYear” award, given by the StructuralEngineer’s Association of Michigan.

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West Michigan Companies to Exhibit at NeoConBy: Jeremy Martin

Chicago-The tagline for NeoCon2012, North America’s foremost conven-tion for commercial interiors and designis ‘Think Big.’ But at least one companythat will be exhibiting in Chicago fromJune 11th to the 13th is hoping theirmost recent product will lead to bigthinking.

The US Chair, designed by JeffWeber for American Seating is the first ina line of several multi-purpose seatingdevelopments meant to meet the needsof American colleges and universities.

According to a press release fromthe Grand Rapids based company “The

Us chair aims to be the new standard ofseating for any college or universityenvironment as it can be used in a vari-ety of settings, including: Small andlarge learning environments; commonsareas; convention spaces; dining facili-ties; dorm rooms; lecture halls; adminis-trative offices; and sports facilities.”

The US Chair line features six free-standing base models and three fixedseating base models and can be pur-chased in any one of 15 shell colors and4 frame colors. Buyers will also have theopportunity to add one of the 434 fabricoptions to their purchase.

The US Chair is constructed of recy-cled materials and can help an institution

acquire LEED points in the MR2 andMR4 categories.

As American Seating states; “TheUs chair further solidifies AmericanSeating’s mantra that, ‘We have the cam-pus covered.’’’

American Seating will be only oneof several West Michigan companiesattending NeoCon which will be hostedin the world’s largest commercial build-ing, which has been affectionatelydubbed ‘the Merchandise Mart.’

The building, which has 11 floors ofpermanent show space and is made up of4.2 million gross square feet will notonly play host to companies who designproducts for the real world, but alsobusiness that design products for the vir-tual one as well.

Grand Rapids based Configurawhich creates software for the likes ofSteelcase, Teknion, Haworth and otherswill be on site to introduce CET Designer3.0, a User-based license model andstorage program for projects inMyConfigura.

The product allows users to installand use CET Designer on as many com-puters as they want, as opposed to being

tied down to one machine.According to a Configura press

release the company will also launch‘MyConfigura’, “a portal webservice con-necting Users to all of Configura’s cloud-based services. For CET Designer Users,MyConfigura is also like an umbrellaunder which everything – from licensinginformation to current projects, render-ings, even videos – can be safely stored,easily accessed and readily shared.”

Any purchase of CET Designer 3.0will feature ‘MyConfigura’ and allow theuser access to tools such as: MovieStudio, RevLink Extension,Reconfiguration Tool, Watermark, PhotoLab, and more.

NeoCon runs from Monday June11th to Wednesday June 13th, 9am to5pm every day. Besides being a show-case of new and potential products, theconvention will also feature; seminars,speakers, student classes, an awards cer-emony and plenty of opportunities fordesigners and buyers alike to networkand mingle.

For more information on NeoCon2012 please visit: neocon.com

Industrial BriefsRockford – Wolverine Worldwideannounced that it, along with BlumCapital Partners and Golden Gate Capital,has signed a definitive agreement toacquire Collective Brands, Inc.’sPerformance + Lifestyle Group, adding toWolverine's existing portfolio, which isled by Merrell, Hush Puppies, Wolverine,Sebago and Caterpillar Footwear.

Allegan – Perrigo, announced two hires- Robert Michaud as Head of ConsumerHealthcare Pricing, and Scott Shcroederas Corporate Environmental Health andSafety Engineer.

Grand Rapids - MedDirect, Inc. willreceive a $750,000 Michigan BusinessDevelopment Program incentive and pro-posing to invest up to $2.1 million andcreate up to 300 new jobs over the nextthree years. Amway will receive $1.6million incentive from the MEDC for $81million local expansion creating 200 newlocal jobs projected over three years.Amway will proceed with the construc-tion of their new manufacturing facilityfor its NUTRILITE brand. The expansionwill create 50 jobs at start-up and 200total over a three-year period. CenterManufacturing, Inc. was approved toreceive a $300,000 incentive from theMEDC for $1 million local expansion andcreate up to 100 new local jobs projectedover three years. The incentive willallow Center Manufacturing, Inc. toexpand its product offerings andincrease production of components forHonda Power Sports.

Jackson – The Michigan ManufacturerAssociation presented Chrysler GroupLLC, Amigo Mobility International,Automatic Spring ProductsCorporation, Eagle Alloy, Inc.,Anderson Global, and Full SpectrumSolutions, Inc. with the prestigious JohnG. Thodis Award.

Grand Rapids – A new FedEx Freightfacility located at 5454 – 52nd Street SE,Grand Rapids held a grand opening June7th. The center will serve as a local pick-up and delivery facility to provide need-ed capacity and growth opportunity forthe Grand Rapids marketplace by han-dling increased shipments from sur-rounding centers.

Walker – Tubelite, Inc. named SteveMikkelson to the newly created positionof Quality Manager working closely withTubelite’s production and executivemanagement teams.

Grand Rapids – After registering with theU.S. Drug Enforcement Administration,U.S. Food and Drug Administration,Safe Quality Food Institute, as well asobtaining experience in Kosher certifica-tion, Praxis Packaging Solutions hasexpanded on its Culture of Quality byregistering their satellite facility inColumbus, OH with the EnvironmentalProtection Agency which will allowPraxis to offer additional flexibility inthe types of products they can packagewhile appealing to a broader customerbase.

14Want to be a Service Leader?

It Starts With the Hiring ProcessBy John Tschohl

Steve Jobs was a master at manythings. He built Apple into a multi-billiongiant, and he did it in large part becauseof the people he hired. His goal, he said,was to hire people who were creative,wickedly smart, and slightly rebellious tohelp him build “the company that wouldinvent the future.”

To say that he met his goal wouldbe a gross understatement. In Steve Jobs,Walter Isaacson quotes his subject assaying, “I’ve learned over the years that,when you have really good people, youdon’t have to baby them. By expectingthem to do great things, you can getthem to do great things. The original Macteam taught me that A-plus players liketo work together, and they don’t like it ifyou tolerate B work.”

Bradford D. Smart, Ph.D., echoesthat view in his book, Top Grading. Hedefines “topgrading” as packing anorganization with A players. That, headds, usually involves removing chronicB and C players, those employees whodon’t put forth an effort to become Aplayers. “Companies packed with A play-ers mercilessly annihilate companiesburdened with B/C players.,” he writes.“It’s inevitable, and it’s happening at anaccelerated pace.”

Take a minute and look at the peo-ple around you. Are they A players? Orare they B and C players? A players aremotivated, creative, and have highexpectations for themselves and for oth-ers. B and C players, on the other hand,often do just enough to get by and to bepaid for it.

The question now becomes, how doyou find and hire A players? Serviceleaders typically hire one out of 50 peo-ple they interview; they are very selec-tive. Too many organizations are in ahurry and don’t want to spend any moretime than necessary interviewing andhiring employees. They conduct oneinterview with a candidate before mak-ing a job offer.

I recommend that you involve otherpeople in the interview process, especial-ly if they’re going to be working with thenew hire. This is a critical for two rea-sons. It gives you their input, and it getstheir commitment to the success of theperson you hire.

Ron Johnson, former senior vicepresident of Retail Operations for Apple,Inc. and recently named CEO of J. C.Penney Company, says that, in order tofind mission-driven employees, youshould conduct as many as eight inter-views. I wholeheartedly agree. AndVernon Hill, former CEO of Commerce

Bank and co-founder of Metro BankLondon, says he never moves to a sec-ond interview if the applicant didn’tsmile during the first one. “The strate-gy,” he says, is to hire outgoing peoplepleasers; then we train, train, and train.”

So, what should you look for duringan interview? Look for people who smile,are enthusiastic, and have a good atti-tude and a neat appearance. Develop alist of questions to use during each inter-view, so you get answers that are easy tocompare and evaluate among applicants.

Ask questions that require morethan “yes” or “no” answers, ones thatwill require applicants to share real expe-riences. What are your strongestpoints—and your weakest points? Whatwas your biggest failure, and whatwould you have done differently? Whatdo you think you can bring to this posi-tion? Describe a situation, and then askthe candidate to explain how he or shewould handle it.

If you want to be a service leaderand reap the financial rewards that des-ignation brings with it, pack your organ-ization with A players. They will driveyour organization to new heights.

John Tschohl, the internationallyrecognized service strategist, is founderand president of the Service Quality

Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota.Described by USA Today, Time, andEntrepreneur as a “customer serviceguru,” he has written several books oncustomer service and has developedmore than 26 customer-service trainingprograms that have been distributedthroughout the world. John’s monthlystrategic newsletter is available online.

IndustrialBriefsPortage, IN – Anthony Kuk joined thePorts of Indiana as port director for thePort of Indiana-Burns Harbor located inPortage, Ind. replacing Peter Laman.

Zeeland – Gentex Corporation is pro-viding a rearview-mirror-integrated dis-play for the all-new Mazda CX-5, sold inJapan, which allows the vehicle to meetunique Japanese safety requirementswhile enhancing vehicle styling.

Holland – Chef Container, LLCannounced the award of a five (5) yearcontract for the collection of single streamrecycling in City of Plainwell located inAllegan County, and will provide the resi-dents of the city with new Single Stream96-gallon curbside carts to replace theaging and outdated current 18-gallonsource separated collection bins.

Grand Rapids – Start Gardenannounced the results from the fifthweek of submissions to startgarden.com.The idea selected by the Start Gardenteam for funding was Regular Coffee –founder Kurt Stauffer of Rowster’sCoffee on Wealthy Street, wants to inno-vate on a delivery service. The ideaselected by the most endorsements fromvisitors was Design a Dream –Shannon Gales, who runs Vue Design, acustom wedding dress shop, has an ideato make custom dresses more affordableand designable by the customer bybreaking the dress down into partswhich can be mixed, matched and sewntogether.

Grand Rapids – Magnum PowderCoating began a 6,000 SF expansionMay 21, of production and warehousespace, with a completion goal of midAugust 2012.

15Aquatic Invasive Species Cost Businesses

Hundreds of Millions AnnuallyLansing - Aquatic invasive Species

(AIS), cost businesses and consumers inthe Great Lakes region hundreds of mil-lions of dollars annually in direct costsand even more from indirect costs relatedto removal, maintenance and manage-ment of those species. Meanwhile, stateand federal governments are currentlyforced to spend additional millions as theyattempt to control the impacts and preventthe spread of AIS, according to a newreport by Anderson Economic Group(AEG), commissioned and released byThe Nature Conservancy today.

The industries most affected by AISinclude sport and commercial fishing,water treatment, power generation andtourism. Together, these industriesemploy more than 125,000 workers in theGreat Lakes region.

The report details the many ways AISimpose economic costs in the Great Lakesregion and it puts into context the scale ofthe impact on several industries directlyaffected by AIS. For example, the cost ofcontrolling zebra mussels at one watertreatment facility is approximately$353,000 annually.

“Some may think that $353,000doesn’t sound like much in the larger con-text of business costs, but when you con-sider that we have 381 water treatmentfacilities across the basin, those numbersadd up quickly,” said Alex Rosaen, con-

sultant at Anderson Economic Group, andthe primary author of the report. “Thatmeans the region is spending over $100million annually on managing a pestinfestation we might have been able toprevent.”

The report also outlines how indirectcosts are spread across the economy.Primary examples are the cost of govern-ment to respond to AIS, and the cost ofregulations developed in response to AIS.

Other economic costs associated withAIS include decreased productivity causedby resources that must be committed todealing with the impacts of AIS, likeremoving zebra mussels from waterintake pipes and reduced demand forgoods and services, such as fewer touristsor fishermen at popular destinations dueto impacted fisheries or beach closures.

“We’ve long known in the conserva-tion community that AIS causes a signifi-cant disruption to species in the foodchain, but it’s important to be able toquantify that damage beyond environ-mental impacts into those that affect oureconomy,” said Rich Bowman, The NatureConservancy’s director of governmentrelations in Michigan and the GreatLakes. “This is not just an environmentalproblem, it’s an economic one, too.”

States across the basin are spendingsignificant financial resources already onmaintenance, control and prevention of

AIS. According to the report, the state ofWisconsin spent more than $12 millionon AIS in 2009 and 2010, while Michiganspent about $3.1 million.

The AEG report highlights in particu-lar the impact on power plants, which isestimated at spending $130 million annu-ally to remove AIS from 106 plants thatutilize water from the Great Lakes. Forexample, zebra mussels have becomesuch a problem for power generation thatin 1989, the Detroit Edison plant inMonroe – the largest fossil-fuel plant inthe world – had to shut down operationsfor three days to clean their intake pipes.

“Controlling aquatic invasive speciesdoesn’t immediately come to mind whenyou think about the job description for aCEO, but that’s a reality for me and manyother major business leaders today,” saidGerry Anderson, president and CEO ofDTE Energy. “It affects our bottom lineand is another area that needs attentionand management to effectively operateour assets.”

According to the report, the largestindustry affected by AIS in the GreatLakes is tourism and recreation, which isresponsible for employing more than90,000 people in the region, generating$30.3 billion annually in revenue. Costs

range from monitoring and controllingAIS to lost revenue from beach closingsaffecting hotels, restaurants and othertourism-related businesses.

AIS-related costs are not just rele-vant to businesses, but also to con-sumers. Cottage owners in Ontario spendan estimated $355 for each household toinstall a water filtration system to combatinfestations of quagga mussels.

The economic impact of new AISentering the Great Lakes are particularlytroubling, Asian carp (bighead and silvercarp) are the most recent, alarming threatbecause of their unknown effect on theGreat Lakes food chain and, as a conse-quence, to industries like commercial andsport fishing. In the Mississippi River,Asian carp agitated by the sound of pass-ing outboard motors have been known toleap from the water, causing physicalharm to people and damage boats andequipment.

“As new AIS invade the Great Lakes,new costs will accrue, additionalresources will be used, and new initiativeswill be needed,” Rosaen said. “Preventingthe spread of new AIS into the GreatLakes would benefit each state.”

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Industrial BriefsChicago, IL – Enjoy Life Foodsannounced the promotion of Ken Harristo Chairmen of the Board.

Lansing – The Where DevelopmentBegins Co-op (comprised of DeWittTownship, the City of DeWitt, BathTownship, and Watertown Township)presented Granger with a CreatingEntrepreneurial Communities Award inthe Contributing to the CommunityCategory.

Comstock Township – Midlink BusinessPark announced that Kenco, a leadingprovider of value-added distribution,public warehousing, transportationservices and intelligent informationtechnology, is expanding its existingoperations at Midlink West to service anew agreement with a U.S. companythat manufactures products for the foodindustry.

Southfield – Maxitrol Company, a topmanufacturer of precision gas controlsystems for markets supported by bur-geoning natural gas and LP gas indus-tries, will begin major renovation andexpansion of its corporate headquartersstarting in August 2012.

Grand Rapids – The Economics Club ofGrand Rapids named James Hackett,President and Chief Executive Officer ofSteelcase Inc., Business Person of theYear for making significant contributionsfor the betterment of the community.

Grand Rapids – Advantage SignSupply added Dustin David to itsProduct Development Department andwill also be specializing in supportingnew additions to the equipment, RIPsoftware, and ink portfolio product lines.

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Education BriefsKalamazoo – A new, high-tech devicethat generates intense pressure com-bined with heat to cut hard and brittlematerials has been developed byWestern Michigan Universityresearchers and could soon have a hugecommercial impact on the machining ofdifficult-to-machine engineered compo-nents. The technological breakthrough,spearheaded by Dr. John Patten, directorof the WMU Manufacturing ResearchCenter, and senior research associateand postdoctoral fellow Dr. DeepakRavindra, uses high pressures generat-ed by diamond cutting tools, along withintense and focused laser beam, to cuthard brittle objects such as glass,ceramics, semiconductors, porcelain,stone and more. Semiconductors arethe bedrock of modern electronics andessential to the manufacture of comput-ers, cell phones, music/entertainmentdevices and systems, and a multitude ofother electronic devices.

Grand Rapids – The US Department ofEducation awarded Grand RapidsCommunity College a $387,630 grantto continue funding its TRiO UpwardBound Program which provides inten-sive educational, service leadership, andcultural opportunities.

Grand Rapids – Eight Grand RapidsCommunity College students took tophonors at the Business Professionals ofAmerica National LeadershipConference. Reinier Fontaine-Perezearned 1st place honors in the entrepre-neurship competition for his businessplan and pitch for Fontaine Financial, anaccounting and finance entity. Alsorepresenting GRCC at the conferencewere Alexi Bettig, David Colbert,Jacob Golden, Zachary Nestor,Samantha See, Dominick Sheridanand MacKenzie Shangle.

Washington, D.C. – Secretary ofEnergy Steven Chu announced thatUniversity of Michigan was awarded$1.3 million in research grants, fellow-ships and scholarships to train and edu-cate the next generation of leaders inAmerica’s nuclear industry.Researchers at the University ofMichigan will receive $831,876 for aresearch project aimed at developingnew and advanced reactor designs andtechnologies that broaden the applica-bility of nuclear reactors.

Big Rapids – Ferris State University’sstudent newspaper the Torch, will be ledby the new editor-in-chief, senior MaryBenson during the 2012-13 school year.

Kalamazoo – Kaytlyn Witgen, who willgraduate from Perry High School thismonth, is the recipient of a MaryUpjohn Meader Scholarship that isdesigned to cover major coursework forstudents studying geography, communi-ty and regional planning, or tourism andtravel, and will pay up to $20,000 overthe next four years for her to study atWestern Michigan University.

Big Rapids – Ferris State Universityannounced Matthew Adeyanju accept-ed an appointment as Dean of Ferris’College of Health Professions, effectiveJuly 15, and Rick Kurtz accepted anappointment as Dean of Ferris StateUniversity’s College of Arts andSciences, effective July 1.

Grand Rapids – Cheri Ackerman, a2011 Calvin grad, has been awarded a2012-2013 Hertz Fellowship, whichsupports gifted leaders in the appliedsciences and engineering, and will payher tuition for five years and provide herwith a sizeable stipend.

Big Rapids – Clifton Franklund, profes-sor at Ferris State University since2006, was honored with the 2011-12Distinguished Teacher Award.

Grand Rapids – Davenport Universityannounced that Franco Bianchi,President and CEO of Haworth Inc., willjoin Davenport University’s Board ofTrustees, effective October 2012.

Big Rapids – Karl E. Huffman,President of Hedrick Associates inGrand Rapids, received the Ferris StateUniversity Distinguished AlumnusAward.

Grand Rapids – Grand RapidsCommunity College ComputerApplications Adjunct Professor CherylKautz was named a winner of aBlackboard Catalyst Award forExemplary Course Program, which hon-ors members of the community whodesign and develop exciting and inno-vative courses that represent the verybest in technology and learning.

Kalamazoo – This summer, WesternMichigan University will begin build-ing a long-planned new home for itsUniversity Archives and RegionalHistory Collections on the Oakland DriveCampus.

Grand Rapids – Lucas Brown andColleen O’Conner, 5th graders at AllSaints Academy, were presented with$500.00 scholarships from their entriesin the Heritage Life Story® WritingContest, sponsored by Heritage LifeStory Funeral Homes.

Grand Rapids – Grand RapidsCommunity College and WesternMichigan University announced for-mation of a partnership that will offerstudents joint admission to both schoolswith the ultimate goal of obtaining aBachelor of Business Administration

Degree. Students will be allowed admit-tance to both GRCC and WMU duringtheir freshman year, and transfer toWMU’s Haworth College of Businessprior to beginning their junior year.GRCC transfer students must earn anassociate’s degree with a minimum of aC in each class, and a 2.5 GPA to beadmitted to WMU’s Bachelor ofBusiness Administration program.

Kalamazoo – U.S. News & WorldReport’s recently published rankings ofgraduate programs, puts six WesternMichigan University health programsamong the best in the nation, with threeof them--occupational therapy, physi-cian assistant and speech-languagepathology--rated both the highest inMichigan and among the top 50 nation-wide.

Communication & IT 17

Communications & IT BriefsLansing – Motion Marketing & Mediawas presented a PACE Award ofExcellence from the Central MichiganPublic Relations Society of America.

Grand Rapids – SeyferthPR announcedpromotions of Megan Ochmanek toAssistant Account Executive, and JohnBalice to Account Coordinator, and hir-ing of Jessica Colwell, AccountCoordinator, and Whitney Potteiger,Project Coordinator.

Madison, WI – TDSTelecommunications Corp. announcedavailability of managedIP Hosted CallCenter. The call center environment con-nects callers and employees based solelyon how a business wants to route calls—by product line, season, and to single ormultiple locations.

Programming a User Friendly Experience From HomeBy: Adam Riggs

I’m a freelance programmer. I workfrom home. I make interactive userexperiences. What this means is I cre-ate visually stimulating online programsthat have animated components and areclickable.

Typically, some company is intro-ducing a new product, video game,movie or other such thing and wants afancy looking website to go along withthe launch. I’m sure you’ve seen some-thing like it before. There’s a loadingscreen, things move around and whenyou click on something it reacts in a coolway. There is usually a video that youcan play as well; although I don’t pay toomuch attention to the content. I’m justthere to make it all work.

I’m not a designer. I don’t make thegraphics, I make them interactive. Bythe time I get on board, the people thathave hired me have been throughmonths of meetings crafting every aspectof the advertising campaign. They sendme pictures of how it’s supposed to look

and I make it happen. I’m like the con-struction crew after the blueprints haveall been drawn up.

But instead of using cranes andcement mixers, I use Photoshop, FlashPro, Flash Builder, and Dreamweaver.

I use Photoshop to break the pic-tures down into individual elements.The nice thing about Photoshop files isthat everything can be put on a differentlayer. This makes it easy for me to eitherextract individual layers or group themtogether depending on how things aresupposed to work.

I use Flash Pro to then import theindividual pictures that I exported fromPhotoshop. I need to use Flash Pro to dothis so that I can identify which thingsare supposed to move around, respondto a click, be able to have text entered inthem, update from a database, and soon. Basically, I recreate the originalimage while making portions of it inter-active.

I use Flash Builder to write the pro-gramming code that controls the interac-tive parts of the picture. This is the part

that takes most of the time. You need tomake sure that everything does exactlywhat it’s supposed to do and nothingmore. Everything needs to be easy touse without ever acting strange or crash-ing.

After I get the program written, Iuse Dreamweaver to embed it in a webpage. Often, there are other pictures orlogos that surround the program andthose all need to be positioned correctlyin a way that looks the same in allbrowsers.

The work that I do can be prettyintense at times because there’s often ahard deadline that can’t be moved.There are usually a few last minutechanges to be made when those who arein charge see how things are shaping upand decide that they want things to be alittle different. Or, sometimes they don’tgive me things that I need until the lastminute because the new product issuper-secret and they don’t want anyoneto see it until the day it launches.

I do work from home and my clientsand people that I work with on projects

are often on the other side of the coun-try so I use email, chat, and Skype tokeep in contact with the team. While I’mworking on a project I can expect a floodof emails, spontaneous chats, and dailySkype conference calls. I may not benear my coworkers but there are manylines of communication that are con-stantly open.

All things considered I like mywork. In contrast to other program-mers, whose work is often not appreciat-ed by non-programmers, the stuff that Imake is designed from the start to beseen and enjoyed by the general public.It’s pretty easy for me to show off what Ido and have people appreciate it.

Adam Riggs is a freelance interac-tive programmer specializing in theFlash platform. His clients have includ-ed Google, Microsoft, Axe, and Lexus.You can view his (somewhat outdated)portfolio at adamriggs.com and he canbe reached via email at adam@adamrig-gs.com

Experienced IT Staffers in DemandGrand Rapids - Over two-thirds of

west Michigan companies adding infor-mation technology positions need mid-level applications staff, such as analysts,programmers, and web developers.Many companies have multiple open-ings. Half the companies are looking forsenior workers and a third can use jun-ior employees. There is a slight decreasein the number of firms outsourcingsome IT projects. Perhaps they arebringing some projects back in-house asIT staffs increase.

All of the retail/wholesale compa-nies taking part in this survey say theyare hiring new information technologystaff in the next six months. More than60% of all kinds of firms report that theywill be hiring IT workers. This certainlyagrees with other economic indicators:unemployment numbers in the westMichigan area are lower than thenational and state average, and employ-ment numbers are up. Non-profits,mostly government and education thatdepend on taxes for income, are the only

employers with fewer than 50% addingIT staff

Paragon Recruiting, a local technol-ogy recruiting firm, has just released itsnew Technology Employment Forecastfor Summer/Fall of 2012. The informa-tion in this forecast can be indicative ofthe overall business climate in westMichigan and help companies make

their strategic decisions. Unlike the larg-er national outlook reports, this one isrestricted to west Michigan and informa-tion technology jobs. About 100 midand west Michigan firms of varyingsizes and industries participate in thissemi-annual forecast. Most have beenfaithful participants since the first fore-cast for 2003.

General Business BriefsGrandville – Bagger Dave’s LegendaryBurger Tavern will celebrate its grandopening at 4553 Canal Ave. SW inGrandville on Sunday, May 13 at 10 a.m.The Grandville restaurant will be theseventh Bagger Dave’s in Michigan withother locations in Ann Arbor, Berkley,Brighton, East Lansing, Grand Rapidsand Novi.

Grand Rapids – Start Garden, the$15,000,000 seed fund that selects ideaseach week for $5,000 investments,announced: The idea chosen from visi-tor endorsements on the website wasNtewani, an online/brick & mortarhybrid retailing women’s fashions andfabrics from around the globe. The ideasubmitter, Brandi Washington is fromRaleigh, NC. Suya Foods LLC, a newbusiness to bring packaged African foodto the mainstream market. Sing SongYoga™ For Kids, a video series teachingyoga poses to kids through song.

Harbor Springs – Boyne HighlandsResort announced a new resort amenity- The Spa, opening for business onFriday, May 25. Resort guests and dayvisitors can relax and rejuvenate at thenew facility, which offers four treatmentrooms, a relaxation area and spa bou-tique, and providing spa goers withaccess to an indoor/outdoor swimmingpool, sauna and fitness facility.

Grand Rapids – Helping to commemorateRobinette’s 100th year of business in2011, Michigan Centennial FarmAssociation honored Robinette’s with a100 year sign, which is only given tofarms that have been run by the samefamily for 100 years.

Grand Rapids – The following were elect-ed to The Employers’ Association’s2012 - 2013 Board of Directors: ArthurJohnson, United Bank of Michigan; Dr.Peter Coggan, Grand Rapids MedicalEducation Partners; Cynthia Alt, AgapePlastics, who received an appointment asDirector; Scott McLean, New HorizonsComputer Learning Center and waselected Board Chair; and Jay Dunwell,Wolverine Coil Spring Co. and was re-elected Treasurer.

Grand Rapids – Property ManagementAssociation of Michigan announcedtwo new laws that took effect May 22,2012, as specifically doing two things:First, it is no longer required that a for-mal police complaint be issued “by thelandlord” in order to evict someonebased upon the already-existing drugeviction statute (MCL 600.5714(b)).Now a police complaint can originatefrom any source, including the policethemselves. Second, it adds a new 7-daynotice to quit based upon violence or thethreat of violence on the landlord’spremises, so long as the victim calls thepolice and it is not a domestic violencesituation.

Grand Rapids – Eric Vorpi, owner of TheCheshire Grill (the former SweetlandRestaurant), at 2162 Plainfield Ave., NE,held an open house and ribbon cuttingon May 22.

Grand Rapids – Click Plow and NxtMileSport Insoles were selected by StartGarden, the $15,000,000 seed fund thatselects ideas each week for $5,000investments, from the first week of sub-missions of ideas to startgarden.com.The third idea, Dirty Water Beer wasselected by visitors to who gave it themost endorsements.

Farmington Hills – Kyyba announced theaddition of Kevin Dacey, as ExecutiveVice President, bringing with him morethan 28 years of experience in theProfessional Staffing Services industry.

Grand Rapids – Lane Cooper, DavidChupp and Leanne Vandenbos are thethree winners of the Third AnnualLegacy Trust Award Collection. EachLegacy Trust Award Collection winnerreceived a cash prize and will be enteredin ArtPrize 2012.

Paw Paw – Lake Michigan Shore winery,St. Julian, was awarded the title of “BestSweet” Riesling by the InternationalRiesling Foundation at the RiversideInternational Wine Competition, in addi-tion to wining Best of Class and aChairman’s Award, the latter requiringunanimous agreement among judges.

Grand Rapids – A.K. Rikk’s, a localmen’s and women’s luxury boutique, iscelebrating its 25th year of operation in2012. Throughout the years they havegrown from a small men’s suiting storeto the place to shop for men’s andwomen’s designer brands in GrandRapids. Their new location will be at6303 28th Street in Cascade, Michigan.

Holland and Zeeland – The Boards ofDirectors for both the Holland andZeeland Chambers unanimouslyapproved a resolution to merge into oneorganization, the Michigan West CoastChamber of Commerce, and will now goto a vote of the members of both organ-izations. They will begin operations onSeptember 1.

Kentwood – Jake’s Fireworks will behosting a grand opening of a 40,000square foot megastore Friday, May 25,with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 1:00p.m., emerging as the top fireworksprovider in the State of Michigan sincethe new law took effect January 1, 2012.

Novi – The nation's largest specialty golfretailer, Golfsmith, is swinging intoNovi and opening one of the area'slargest experiential retail golf storeslocated at 43135 Crescent Boulevard, inthe Novi Town Center. The new locationprovides area golfers with an unrivaledgolf retail experience of interactive, hightech features not found in most golfstores.

Muskegon – The renowned “MuskegonArt in the Park” fine arts and craftshow, and the Michigan Marketplacewill take place June 29 to July 1, 2012.

Grand Rapids – Kantorwassink wasinternationally recognized by the presti-gious Communicator Awards for theirwork on the Amway Global Starter KitGuide, the Wolverine Worldwide identity,and the Emergency Care SpecialistsIntegrated Brand Campaign.

Grand Rapids – WGVU Public Mediaannounced that its television productionof Hope College Christmas Vespers 2011has been named as a nominee in the34th Emmy Awards by the NationalAcademy of Television and SciencesMichigan Chapter. Winners of the 2011Michigan Emmys will be announced thisJune.

Grand Rapids – The Board of Directorsand employees of Grand RapidsOpportunities for Women announcedthat William Hahn joined their staff asMicroloan Program Manager.

Muskegon – LongerDays.com, whichprovides outsourcing services such asWeb design, copy writing and adminis-trative support to clients worldwide,signed a two-year agreement with GrandValley State University to occupy busi-ness incubator space at GVSU’sAlternative and Renewable EnergyCenter. “Instead of companies outsourc-ing to India or countries other than theU.S., they’re outsourcing to Muskegonand supporting full-time jobs,” saidowner Chad Lawie, a 27-year oldMuskegon native.

Finance/Insurance BriefsLansing – Foster Swift Attorney,Michael Harrison, was presented the2012 Glen L. Taggart Award forCommunity Contribution to InternationalUnderstanding, an award given byMichigan State University.

Grand Rapids – The Michigan SmallBusiness and TechnologyDevelopment Center selected FifthThird Bank as the 2011 OutstandingPartner, as part of the Recognition ofExcellence and Leadership awards.Grand Rapids – Hilger Hammond, PC,announce the election of Benjamin H.Hammond as Trustee for the GrandRapids Bar Association. Hammond willserve his term starting on July 1, 2012.

Grand Rapids – Plante Moran, PLLC,the nation’s 12th largest public account-ing and business advisory firm, receivedrecent recognition on the 2011 Top Tenlist of the National Top Workplaces.

Sparta – ChoiceOne Bank announcedthe addition of John T. Goodrow asMortgage Loan Originator.

Grand Rapids – Rhoades McKeeannounced Zoe S. Martinez joined thelaw firm as an associate. She will focusher practice in the areas of employmentlaw and general litigation.

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Coworkers Are Customers, TooProvide Them With the Best Service Possible

By John Tschohl

When we talk about customer serv-ice, we usually think about how we dealwith the people who walk through ourdoors—both physical and virtual—topurchase our products and services.What we often fail to realize, however, isthat we also have customers within ourorganizations; those customers are ourcoworkers.

Customer service means beingresponsive to a customer’s needs andbeing resourceful in meeting thoseneeds. Customer service is many things:knowledge, communication, skill, atti-tude, efficiency, integrity, reliability,knowledge, and helpfulness.

How you interact with coworkersand supervisors has a huge impact onthe effectiveness of the team. When Danasks for your help in completing a report,do you tell him that it’s not your respon-sibility, or do you eagerly offer to dowhatever you can to help him meet hisdeadline? When Bethany points out anerror, do you get defensive, or do youview her comment as constructive andvow to improve your performance?

When you treat coworkers and

supervisors with respect, when you helpthem solve their problems and meet orexceed the demands of the job, yourvalue as an employee increases dramati-cally. Just as you should do whatever ittakes to satisfy a customer, you shoulddo whatever it takes to help a coworker.

If you want to ensure that the serv-ice you are providing is exceptional, takethese steps:

1. Develop a positive attitude. Yourattitude is reflected in everything you do.It not only determines how you approachyour job and your coworkers, it deter-mines how they respond to you. Don’tcomplain—and don’t hang around nega-tive coworkers. Do whatever it takes toget the job done—and done right.

Listen. You can’t help a coworkerunless you hear and understand what heneeds. Listening shows that you careand provides you the information youneed to do what needs to be done. Askquestions. Rephrase what your coworkeris saying to ensure that you understandthe situation. Then use that informationto decide how to move forward.

3. Solve problems. Great customerservice professionals are quick on theirfeet. They have the skills necessary to

quickly analyze a situation and decidewhat needs to be done to solve the prob-lem. Don’t procrastinate. Develop a planof attack, and handle the situation asquickly and efficiently as possible.

Be accessible. This means returningphone calls and responding to emails asquickly as possible. Doing so sends themessage that what your coworker needsis important to you and that you areavailable and eager to provide whateverassistance is needed.

5. Be honest. If a task is outsideyour level of expertise, or if you cannotmeet the required deadline, admit it.Then offer to facilitate by helping yourcoworker identify someone in the organ-ization who does have the expertise andthe time to assist with the project.Honesty earns respect. The same holdstrue when you make a mistake. Admit it,apologize, and learn from it.

Make your coworkers feel valued.Recognize them with a smile. Call themby name. Make eye contact. Be attentiveto what they have to say. Complimentthem when they do a good job. Ask fortheir advice. Make them feel important.

7. Perform. Deliver what youpromise. Send the message that your

coworkers can depend on you. Do whatyou say you will do—and do it with qual-ity, speed, and accuracy. If you say youare going to complete a report byTuesday, do your best to complete it byMonday.

There is great power in masteringthe skills necessary to provide exception-al customer service. You will gain confi-dence in yourself and your abilities, youwill earn the respect of your coworkers,and you will be recognized and reward-ed. You will set yourself apart and be rec-ognized as a valuable member of theteam. And you will have satisfied cus-tomers.

John Tschohl, the internationallyrecognized service strategist, is founderand president of the Service QualityInstitute in Minneapolis, Minnesota.Described by USA Today, Time, andEntrepreneur as a “customer serviceguru,” he has written several books oncustomer service and has developedmore than 26 customer-service trainingprograms that have been distributedthroughout the world. John’s monthlystrategic newsletter is available online.

Finance/Insurance BriefsFremont – According to the results of the12th Biennial Michigan Association ofInsurance Agents 2012 Agent Surveyof Companies, Fremont Insurance wasnamed the highest rated insurance com-pany among independent agents acrossthe state. Fremont was ranked as thetop agency in Competitiveness, Service:Commercial Lines, Automation,Underwriting, Attitude and Managementcategories, a close second in Service:Personal Lines, Claims, and AgencyContract, and third in Compensation.

Grand Rapids – Rhoades McKeeannounced Jacqueline M. Appleman,Timothy R. Dudley and GeorgeWilliams G. Futado have joined the firmas Summer Associates.

Grandville – Grand River Bank hasexpanded its Residential Mortgage teamwith the addition of Tim McAleece asVice President Mortgage Manager.

Grand Rapids – Founders Bank & Trustannounced that Scott LaBarge has beenpromoted to the newly created positionof Chief Financial Officer of FoundersBank & Trust.

Grand Rapids – Plante Moran, PLLC,the nation’s 12th largest public account-ing and business advisory firm, hasbeen included on the 2012 List of BestPublic Accounting Firms for Womenreleased today by the American Societyof Women Accountants and theAmerican Women’s Society of CertifiedPublic Accountants.

Grand Rapids – Hospice of Michiganannounced the hiring Susan FentersLerch as Corporate Director ofDevelopment, and will be responsible forall aspects of fundraising for Hospice ofMichigan statewide.

Sparta – ChoiceOne Bank announcedRobert Grove joined as Vice President ofInformation Systems and will direct andsupervise the interfaces and supportsystems required for Bank-wide busi-ness operation.

Grand Rapids – Independent Bankreceived the “Highest CustomerSatisfaction with Retail Banking in theNorth Central Region” from the J.D.Power and Associates 2012 RetailBanking Satisfaction StudySM.

Grand Rapids – Price Heneveld® LLPannounced Briana Emerson joined thefirm as a Law Clerk.

Lansing – Frank Reynolds, a share-holder at the law firm of Foster SwiftCollins & Smith PC, was presented withthe Anne Schneidewind Impact Awardby Big Brothers and Big Sisters for theMichigan Capital Region at the KelloggCenter at Michigan State University.

Grand Rapids – The Grand RapidsGriffins announced the hiring of SteveRitsema as Corporate Sales AccountManager.

Grand Rapids - Lighthouse Groupannounced the addition of ShawnMacDougall to the Kentwood team.

Farmington Hills – Dirk Beckwith,shareholder at the law firm of FosterSwift Collins & Smith PC, was namedPresident-Elect of the TransportationLawyers Association.

Grand Rapids – Lake Michigan CreditUnion announced the promotion of BillClancy, Director of Retail Strategy, toVice President of Retail Strategy.

Midland – Chemical FinancialCorporation announced that its sub-sidiary, Chemical Bank, has enteredinto a definitive agreement to purchase21 branches from Independent Banklocated in Otsego, Alpena, Presque Isle,Montmorency, Roscommon, Iosco,Ogemaw, Calhoun and Kalamazoo coun-ties. The acquisition is expected to closein the third quarter of 2012.

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